Fun free toddler activities

I wish there was a fast forward button on the work week and a slow motion button on the weekends. Basically, what I am saying is that I wish that work weeks were 2 days and weekends were 5 days. How glorious it would be.

I am going to try to spotlight a toddler activity or two weekly and this weekend my spotlight is freebies! Ok, weekly toddler activities may be ambitious, but I am still going to give it a try!

Before I get started I would just like to spotlight that on Saturday morning Nolan had to get his flu shot. He surprised both Ryan and I and did very well. He cried when I laid him on the table and at the initial shot, but stopped by the time I picked him up and took 1 step to open the door.

Fun FREE toddler activities:

· Library class

· Airplane observation area

· Storyville

Library class: After running a few morning errands (spending too much money at Target) we took Nolan to the Saturday morning library class. The local libraries offer free classes to all different age groups throughout the week and weekends. The class we take Nolan to on Saturdays is called Play Partners for infant-23 months. We have started to make this class part of our weekend routine and it seems like he alternates his mood from happy to grumpy each week. Having the flu shot I thought it was going to be a back-to-back grumpy weekend at the library, but he had SO MUCH fun! At one point he even wandered his way to the front of the room listening to the teacher read the story and turned around to clap in front of everyone so proudly. It was adorable! After every story and song Nolan would shout “again, again!” He hammed it up 100% at the class. This means that this coming Saturday he will probably not be interested and trying to escape the entire class. Bonus, Ryan will be playing in a football tournament so I will be juggling Nol Nol on my own.

Dancing~

Fun with the parachute!

Feeling victorious for finding a ball...that happens to look like a dog toy!

BWI Airplane observation area: On Saturday evening just before sunset (ok I don’t even think the sun was out on Saturday) we went to the airplane observation area. There area is the perfect place to take your toddler. There are a few benches and a (very small) playground. The airplanes come through for landing every few minutes. Last Saturday it was very cloudy and so we could not see the planes lined up in the sky, but according to my husband on a clear day you can see them all lined up in the sky. It was still cool to see the lights appear from the clouds and then come in to sight. Nolan was in his glory. He had so much fun alternating between watching the airplanes and going down the slide. He is fascinated by airplanes right now and he can hear them and spot them from so far away. Sometimes he even finds them in the sky before me, it’s crazy! Had it not been so cold we could have probably stayed longer because Nolan was so content watching (and clapping) each time the airplanes landed.

Playground with daddy!

"airplane! airplane!" "again! again!"

He cheered every time they landed!

So excited to see each airplane!

Storyville: I have talked about Storyville multiple times in my blog and always refer to it as a hidden gem. We are taking Nolan to Storyville on Wednesday evenings this winter and it seems to be the perfect time to go. We feed Nolan his dinner around 5pm and then go to Storyville from about 6-7ish and meet up with some of his friends! I have yet to see more than 5 other children there when we go. I love to go at that time because Nolan can still have social interaction without being trampled by older children. For those of you that do not know what Storyville is let me explain; Storyville is part of the Woodlawn library and has a baby area (or as they call it “baby park”), a tree house, grocery store/market, kitchen/house, puzzles, books, puppets, musical instruments, blocks, legos, magnets and so much more for your little one to play with and explore! Nolan always has a great time playing when we are there and once again it’s free!